Theories Of Small Group Development

Theories of Small Group Development

Theories of Small Groups

People live in groups, work in groups and play in groups, so it is therefore logical that groups are subject to study across the social and behavioral sciences. This text summarises the current state of group theory and research, looking at major advances made in the field during the last 50 years

Small Groups as Complex Systems

What are groups? How do they behave? Arrow, McGrath, and Berdahl answer these questions by developing a general theory of small groups as complex systems. Basing their theory on concepts distilled from general systems theory, dynamical systems theory, and complexity and chaos theory, they explore groups as adaptive, dynamic systems that are driven by interactions among group members as well as between the group and its embedding contexts. In addition, they consider not only the group's members and their distribution of attributes, but also the group's tasks and technology in order to understand how those members, tasks, and tools are intertwined, coordinated, and adjusted. Throughout the book, the authors focus our attention on relationships among people, tools, and tasks that are activated by a combination of individual and collective purposes and goals that change and evolve as the group interacts over time.